Dover traffic delays - live: French MP blames Brexit for chaos as queues form for second day

Busiest travel weekend since 2019 kicks off as school holidays begin

Long queues in Dover stretch over miles amid travel chaos

French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, has blamed the UK’s exit from the EU for the travel chaos, as holidaymakers joined lengthy queues in Dover for the second day running.

Mr Henri Dumont told BBC News it was “an aftermath of Brexit” with more checks needed and claiming the Dover port is “too small” with too few kiosks due to lack of space.

However, Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss blamed the delays on a lack of staffing by the French at the border. The foreign secretary said the delays and queues were “unacceptable” and called on France to act over the “entirely avoidable” delays.

It comes after travellers got stuck in queues for up to six hours in the Port of Dover on Friday at the start of the summer school holidays – which led to the port declaring a “critical incident”.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “As the schools closed their doors fully yesterday, Saturday could prove busier still this weekend.

“Drivers should continue to expect disruption and delays on major holiday routes to the south-west, eastern coast and ports of Dover and Folkestone.

“While many have decided to go at the start of the summer holidays, between now and the beginning of September when schools return, each Friday and Saturday will be busy on our roads because these are the main switchover days for holiday lets.”

Key points

• Increased transaction times at border due to Brexit, says Port of Dover chief executive
• Truss calls on France to act over ‘entirely avoidable’ delays at Dover
• How Saturday’s papers are covering Port of Dover gridlock
• Dover traffic yet to ease just before Friday midnight – pictures
• ‘French border officials must turn up for work’ - Dover MP
• British reports ‘must be corrected’ says Calais security chief

[23 July 2022 09:38 · Joe Middleton]

Increased transaction times at border due to Brexit, says Port of Dover chief executive

There will be increased transaction times at the border due to extra checks needed since Brexit, the chief executive of the Port of Dover has said.

Doug Bannister told the BBC Radio Four Today programme: “We are operating in a post-Brexit environment which does mean that passports need to be checked, they need to be stamped and indeed the capable people that do man the booths, police aux frontieres, they’re doing their job that they need to do now.”

He added that in a post-Brexit environment “there will be increased transaction times at the border” and that the port had “created more border capacity so that the overall throughput can be maintained”.

He said their modelling had shown that there will be some “very peak busy days during the summer season” but “for the most part we should be able to cope with the traffic”.

PA

[23 July 2022 10:08 · Joe Middleton]

P&O Ferries urges passengers to allow five hours for travel

Ferry operator P&O Ferries told passengers to allow at least five hours to clear the approach roads and security checks.

The ferry company said on Friday evening it expects Saturday to be “just as busy”.

[23 July 2022 10:46 · Joe Middleton]

Simon Calder in Dover: Busiest day since 2019 begins with go-slow

Holidaymakers hoping to sail over from Dover to France on the busiest day since 2019 are facing queues for French border control of between one and two hours – after they make it into the port.

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, told The Independent: “We are still trying to clear the significant backlog that arose from yesterday’s challenges.”

As the big weekend rush began on Friday, the port warned that holidays could be ruined because of “woefully inadequate” staffing by French border officials, the Police aux Frontières. The authorty declared a “‘critical incident”.

Simon Calder reports.

[23 July 2022 11:08 · Joe Middleton]

Campaigners plan to save railway ticket offices

A campaign to stop closures of rail ticket offices is being stepped up with a day of action next month.

Unions fear ticket offices are set to close with the loss of thousands of jobs, making it difficult for some passengers to book tickets.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said the industry is carrying out a consultation in August and is scheduled to start closing offices from October.

General secretary Mick Lynch said: “Ticket offices are a vital service on our railways and profit hungry train operating companies simply do not care about the detrimental impact it will have on vulnerable passengers and staff safety.

“We have no problem with genuine modernisation and adapting the way the modern railways work.

“But we will not allow thousands of members to meekly join Britain’s dole queues or to accept a version of fire and rehire on inferior terms and conditions.

“We will fight this every step of the way with our national rail strike, and the public can help greatly by putting pressure on their local MP, telling the politicians they must oppose the closures.”

Cat Hobbs, director of campaign group We Own It, said: “Passengers want ticket offices on our railway, they want a human being they can turn to for help, not just a machine.

“We all need them, from children on their first solo trip, to elderly passengers who don’t have a smartphone to buy a ticket.

“You can’t have Great British Railways if people can’t even ask for the information and support that they need.

“Instead of abandoning passengers with a second class service, this Government should be making it easy for people to take the train.”

PA

[23 July 2022 11:29 · Joe Middleton]

Pictured: latest images from queues in Dover

Traffic queues on the M20 near Folkestone in Kent (PA)

(PA)

(PA)

[23 July 2022 11:57 · Joe Middleton]

Holidaymakers take to social media to share travel woes in Kent

Holidaymakers have taken to social media on Saturday to share their travel problems as enormous queues have formed at the Port of Dover for the second day running.

[23 July 2022 12:22 · Joe Middleton]

ICYMI: Aerial footage captures Dover queues stretching miles

Motorists faced lengthy queues to enter the Dover port on Friday morning, 22 July, due to a shortage of staff.

Aerial footage captured the extent of the chaos as hundreds of lorries and cars could be seen at a standstill over miles of road.

The Port of Dover declared a “critical incident”, blaming the French authorities for its “woefully inadequate staffing”.

During the early morning hours, the roads to the Port (A2/A20) were already reported to be “extremely busy with freight and tourism”.

[23 July 2022 12:40 · Joe Middleton]

Summer holiday congestion building in south of England

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said road traffic is building up as more people take to the roads for summer.

He said: “The summer holiday traffic is now spreading with delays beginning to show, predominantly in the South of England, on the M25, M3, M4, M5, M6, A303 and A31.

“There is also evidence of drivers looking to bypass the worst of the jams and are turning onto local roads to beat the rush.”

[23 July 2022 13:15 · Joe Middleton]

‘Brexit to blame’ for travel gridlock at Dover, union says

This weekend’s traffic chaos in Dover is a “predictable” consequence of Brexit as France “takes back control” of its border, an immigration union chief has said.

A major incident has been declared at the Kent port as long queues are expected following queues of up to six hours on Friday and thousands of families attempt to get away at the start of the summer holiday season.

The gridlock has been blamed on a shortage of border control staff on the French side of the Channel.

Andrew Woodcock reports.

[23 July 2022 13:45 · Joe Middleton]

Simon Calder in Dover: Busiest day since 2019 begins with go-slow

Holidaymakers hoping to sail over from Dover to France on the busiest day since 2019 are facing queues for French border control of between one and two hours – after they make it into the port.

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, told The Independent: “We are still trying to clear the significant backlog that arose from yesterday’s challenges.”

As the big weekend rush began on Friday, the port warned that holidays could be ruined because of “woefully inadequate” staffing by French border officials, the Police aux Frontières. The authorty declared a “‘critical incident”.

As the day wore on, families heading for the Continent on holiday found themselves stuck in cars for many hours. Local residents struggled to make their way through the congestion that built up during the day.

Simon Calder reports.